Secure communications

So, I have recently taken a new job (it is a kick ass place to work too), and have moved. In the process of buying a house, a lot of sensitive infomation is exchanged. Particularly around the documentation required for a home loan.

Email has become the de-facto standard for exchange. Nobody seems to worry about sending things with social security numbers, EIN, and other identity information.

Alas, I query the mortgage broker, asking for their public key, and I get a big “huh?” in response.

I know that email encryption is not trivial, and that it takes some effort to get your certificate (for free from comodo.com for personal use), and to distribute your public key. But you would think that someone who handles thousands of personal financial documents daily would have it in place.